Welcome to the Holy City; the silver screen
Built with the lends of the low self esteem
A teenager's plea for meaning and means
We're selling the news

See, opinions are easier to swallow than facts
The greys instead of the whites and the blacks
If you shoot it too straight it won't come back
We're selling the news

See, money speaks volumes louder than words
And virtues with wings, maybe not quite at first
But salaries are payed with the eyes not the verbs
We're selling the news

See, all men are equal; all is for sale
A powerful dog has been chasing his tale
The lowest common denominator prevails
We're selling the news

I wanna believe you, I wanna believe
But everything is in-between
The fact is fiction, the fact is fiction

I wanna believe you, I wanna believe
But everything is in-between
The fact is fiction
Suspicion is the new religion

America listens as the story is told
With the eye on the truth as the story unfolds
But the ratings determine which story was sold
We're selling the news

Begging the question, mongering fears
Stroking the eyes and tickling ears
The truth is seldom just as it appears
We're selling the news

I wanna believe you, I wanna believe
But everything is in-between
The fact is fiction, the fact is fiction

I wanna believe you, I wanna believe
But everything is in-between
The fact is fiction, the fact is fiction

I can see your talking heads
On the television set
On the Internet they said
The fact is fiction

Suspicion is the new religion

Substance, oh, substance, where have you been?
You've been replaced by the masters of spin
Who make good looking books and write history in
We're selling the news

The lines start to blur; I get so confused
They get shiny new models mixed up with the blues
They get binary code mixed up with abuse
The facts are simply one option to choose

When nothing is sacred, there's nothing to lose
When nothing is sacred, all is consumed
We're still on the air, it must be the truth
We're selling the news

I wanna believe you, I wanna believe
But everything is in-between
The fact is fiction, the fact is fiction

I wanna believe you, I wanna believe
But everything is in-between
The fact is fiction, the fact is fiction

I wanna believe you, I wanna believe
But everything I see is green
The fact is fiction

Suspicion is the new religion


Lyrics submitted by raelynch

Selling the News Lyrics as written by Jon Foreman

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Selling The News song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

7 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    The song is talking about the news media (Selling the NEWS), and how materialistic and corrupt it has become. "America listens, the story is told, With an eye on the truth as the story unfolds, But the ratings determine if story was sold, We're selling the news". Basically, the news media shows whatever stories the people want to hear, whatever will get them the most ratings and most money. "Stroking the eyes and tickling ears, The truth is seldom just as it appears." Again, how the news plays what the people want, weather it is the whole truth or not: "Substance... you've been replaced by the masters of spin". It's also talking about us as a culture, how we have turned from God and have become materialistic, and, in our quest to deny God existence, turned to theories, most predominantly evolution, to explain our existence: "The facts are simply one option to choose... When nothing is sacred, there's nothing to lose... all is consumed". "All is consumed" is referring to materialism. "When nothing is sacred, there's nothing to lose" is talking about how, when we are taught that we are just random accidents that somehow magically evolved from monkeys, and that there is no meaning to life, why should we value it? What's there to lose? After all, without God, there is no meaning or purpose, right? I really like this song, and it is one of my favorites. I really like how Switchfoot doesn't censor their songs and simply make what people want to hear ("Tickling ears"), but instead actually put meaning and purpose into their songs, no matter what kind of ratings they get for it.

    RagArisenon January 07, 2013   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.